NIPSCO plans big spending, new plant

November 22, 2011

One of Indiana’s largest investor-owned utilities plans to invest at least $5 billion in improvements to its system, and is considering the construction of a new natural gas-fired power plant.

NIPSCO CEO Jimmy Staton recently told the Northwest Indiana Times that the company’s new integrated resource plan shows that the utility is well-positioned to meet current needs, but believes that growing demand over the next decade will require the construction of a combined cycle gas turbine plant. Staton estimated the cost of such a plant at about $800 million, and said the process of soliciting bids could begin in two years. It would be the company’s first new plant in decades.

The utility, which delivers power to more than 450,000 customers, expects to spend $1 billion on environmental improvements over the next ten years, and an additional $1.5 billion to upgrade its transmission infrastructure, among a long list of projects in the plan.